IEEE Technical Group Completes 802.11g Wireless LAN 8.2 Specification

5/23/2003 - Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), the leading provider of silicon solutions enabling broadband communications, congratulates the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11g Technical Group for completing its work on the 802.11g wireless LAN draft 8.2 specification. The forthcoming 802.11g standard extends the data rate of the current 802.11b standard from 11 Megabytes per second (Mbps) to 54 Mbps while maintaining backward compatibility to 802.11b equipment. With the technical specification in its expected final form (draft 8.2), the remaining step in the 802.11g standardization process is a review by the IEEE Standards Board Standards Review Committee. The IEEE is scheduled to consider the 802.11g draft specification as an amendment to the current 802.11 standard on June 12, 2003.

The completion of the 802.11g specification is an important milestone for businesses and consumers planning to use wireless LANs in the office, home or public space as it marks the transition of 802.11g to the new mainstream wireless LAN standard. Customers can continue to purchase 54 Mbps products in the 2.4 GHz frequency band with confidence that specification changes are complete and that the products can comply with industry standards. The Wi-Fi Alliance recently announced plans to begin 802.11g interoperability testing as soon as the IEEE ratifies the final standard.

“The past year’s progress towards 802.11g as an industry standard has been remarkable,” said Ken Furer, research analyst at market research firm IDC. “The IEEE is now just a signature cycle from approving the 802.11g standard, the Wi-Fi Alliance is poised to certify interoperability, and millions of pre-standard products are in customers’ hands ready for a standard’s compliant software upgrade. We expect 802.11g market momentum to accelerate with the approval of the standard.”

Representatives from the industry’s premier silicon suppliers, equipment vendors, service providers and universities have participated in the IEEE 802.11g standards process. Broadcom engineers are an integral part of the 802.11g Task Group development effort and Broadcom has been the first technology vendor to deliver software updates as the specification evolved. This has enabled Broadcom customers to provide products with the latest features as defined by the 802.11g draft specification.

“The 802.11g task group has done great work defining the next mainstream wireless LAN technology,” said Jeff Abramowitz, Senior Director of Marketing for Broadcom’s wireless LAN products. “Broadcom was an early champion of the 802.11g effort and was the first vendor to ship technology based on the draft specification. We are now the industry’s leading provider of 54 Mbps solutions and, with the 802.11g standard ratification near, we can reassure customers that all products with Broadcom’s 54gTM technology are capable of a simple software upgrade to comply with the final standard.”

54gTM is Broadcom’s maximum performance implementation of the 802.11g draft specification. Solutions based on 54gTM technology provide up to 54 Mbps connectivity with the highest throughput allowed by the specification, and are interoperable with the 35 million 802.11b nodes currently in service. Products based on 54gTM also offer the industry’s most advanced security features, including Wi-Fi Protected AccessTM (WPA) certified support, and hardware-based support of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). This comprehensive security portfolio provides powerful network protection today and future-proofs customer investments by meeting the stringent standards-based security requirements of tomorrow.

Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and may be contacted at 1-949-450-8700 or at www.broadcom.com.

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